Days 2 and 3 on St. Cuthbert's Way

There were many things to see - both natural beauties and manmade, and some curiosities.

Thistles may be prickly, but in a group they make a swath of gentle color on the hillsides.

 A deep footpath through quiet and shady woods.  This is Pat - she has long legs and walks fast and is usually way way ahead of me.

J.C. Douglas is very proud of his profession:   Scottish Sausage Champion 2009/10.  I guess I'd put that title on my shop as well.

No matter the size or shape, mailboxes in the U.K. all seem to be bright red.  The Post Office behind Barbara is also a convenience store where we bought some ice cream bars.

Pat is an old hand at crossing stiles and shows Sandy how it's done.

Is it the climate?  Great Britain has some of the biggest beech trees I have ever seen.   They're not so tall as in Northern Virginia, but their girth exceeds  by several times.

I wish that every long hiking day ended with a slice of very lovely and delicious cake.  This one is made with beets, not carrots.

St. Cuthbert's Way passes many abbey ruins.  This one is in the center of the town of Jedburgh.   The red and blue pennants were to mark the route of a cross-Britain multi-day bicycle race set to pass through Jedburgh after we left.

This is Monteviot Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Teviot River.

Dere Street is the present-day name for a road originally laid out by the  Romans some 2 millenia ago.   But it is definitely no longer a "road" or "street", but a very narrow footpath through long, wet grasses.  Romans built straight roads; on the map this is straight but in fact it wiggles back and forth.  But is thankfully level.